The Eternal Gospel
Notes
Transcript
Handout
The gospel - the good news - is that Jesus took the judgement of God for all of humanity. He offers this free gift of salvation to whoever believes in him. Yet it does not stop there.
The gospel is also that justice will prevail; the guilty and wicked will not go unpunished. Revelation is a detailed proclamation of that gospel. Those who believe are saved, and those who deny the free gift receive the full judgement of God.
Revelation 14:1
1 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
The Preterist and Idealist see the 144,000 representing the church.
The Preterist sees them as the church before AD. 70.
The Idealist sees them as the church for all time.
The Futurist sees the 144,000 as Jews chosen by God to represent the gospel in word and deed in the tribulation period.
We, too, represent the gospel in word and deed in our circles of influence.
The 144,000 are with Jesus the Lamb at Mount Zion. The physical location would the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The theological significance would be that this is where heaven intersects with earth. It is where the ark of the covenant rested, which is the footstool of God’s throne, intersecting with His courtroom in heaven.
The question is asked if they are in heaven or on earth. I would say they are interacting in both realms. We, too, interact in both realms daily as we live for Jesus, for we bring his redeeming presence wherever we go.
The 144,000 belong to God and have his protection, as signified by the names of Jesus and Yahweh written on their foreheads. None of them have been lost since their numbering in Revelation 7. There are still 144,000 Jews for Jesus. We, too, have God’s seal and name upon us to bear his name, his gospel before the people in word and in deed.
Revelation 14:2-3.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps,
3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
On Mount Zion, where heaven and earth intersect, an overwhelming yet soothing voice is heard by John.
The 144,000 join their voices with a new song which they only have the right to sing. This song, I believe, comes from their mission and calling. Here with the Lamb, they sing it before the heavenly throne room.
Church, we too are called to sing to the Lord. We have the privilege and opportunity to raise a hallelujah with all of heaven. Not only that, but like Paul and Silas, we raise a hallelujah in the presence of our enemies.
Revelation 14:4-5.
4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb,
5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.
The 144,000 proclaim the gospel in deed.
They are virgins.
There is a lot of scholarly debate as to whether or not this is speaking of literal or spiritual virgins. Both ideas are prevalent in Scripture.
If you are a Preterist or an Idealist you will favor the idea of spiritual virgins, meaning they do not go after false gods, namely the prostitute who rides the beast to make the nations drink of her sexual immorality.
If you are a Futurist you will favor the idea of them being literal virgins. The point of being virgins demonstrates their commitment and focus to the calling which God had placed on them, and not entangling themselves with the affairs of life, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:32.
Either way, the application is the same. We are to be loyal to God and about his mission of sharing the gospel in word and deed.
They follow Jesus
The idea of a disciple is to follow and copy the teacher.
Jesus is their teacher; they take their cues from him.
May we too take our cues from Jesus, our teacher - the embodiment of the gospel, which we proclaim in word and deed.
They are redeemed as firstfruits
The OT context is to give the first of the harvest to God.
The Preterist and Idealist see this as the Church. John is picking up on James 1:18.
18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
The Futurist sees the 144,000 as the firstfruits of Israel returning to God and accepting Jesus as their Messiah.
They are truthful.
We are all charged to speak the truth in love. Honesty is always the best policy. May we speak the truth of the gospel, not to destroy, but to reconcile.
They are blameless.
We all need to be reminded where their blamelessness comes from. It comes from Christ’s work on the cross and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
We too are blameless in the same way, and may we never forget.
Revelation 14:6.
6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.
The gospel is not a fleeting idea or work. It is eternal. God’s work of redemption and judgement will be forever.
Everyone hears the gospel proclaimed. No one is left out. It reminds me of Matthew 24:14.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
This, of course, should not negate our call to proclaim in word and deed, for we have a great privilege to join God in his work of reconciliation, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5.
Revelation 14:7.
7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
The message of the gospel here is not what you would expect. We usually think of John 3:16,
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
But we forget about John 3:17-18
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
We tend to leave off the consequences of not believing. The consequence of not giving God the reverence and awe that he deserves is to be condemned by the justice of God.
The cross means nothing without God’s justice, expressed in his wrath.
Revelation 14:8.
8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
God’s wrath in the coming chapters is poured out on Babylon, for she is fallen in judgement.
The Preterist sees Babylon as a cypher for Rome, as illustrated by 1 Peter 5:13.
13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son.
The Idealist sees Babylon as a symbol of the corrupt world system that began in Babel and continues in all the nations that have challenged God since. This system, known as Babylon, will fall because of God’s judgement.
The Futurist sees Babylon as representing a rebirth of Rome in some form in the last days, based on Daniel 2 and Daniel 7.
Good news! This world and its brokenness will not be forever. God is going to fix it all.
Revelation 14:9-11.
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
The first angel gives a call to worship God, Creator of all. If you don’t worship him and follow him, then ultimately you worship the beast.
The mark of the beast is a counterfeit to God’s mark which he places on his own. His own know him and give him glory.
The consequences of unbelief are dire - the full wrath of God for all eternity in the lake of fire. There ain’t no rest for the wicked in life or death.
Revelation 14:12-13.
12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
God’s plan for his people is bigger than this life. He came and died so that we might have life - life eternal in communion with God.
The communion starts when we believe the gospel. We don’t have to wait till we die for a taste of the ultimate rest that will be ours in Jesus. We find that rest as we live the gospel in the mundane of life.
We can engage in our relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit any time. A good way to do this is communion - sharing a meal with Jesus. Turn with me to Luke 22:15-20
15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.
18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
Church, may we find rest in the eternal gospel as we live it out in word and deed.